Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-30
INTER STATE COMMERCE.
The AttOrney.General Called Upon fOI
an Interpretation in Regard to
the Postal Service
Inspectors, Special Agents and Regular
Clerks to Ride on Free Passes
as Heretofore.

WASHINGTON, March 29.-On the 2lst
inst. the Postmaster General solicited
from the Attorney General an opinion on
the question whether there be anything IN
the act of February 4, 1887, entitled Gan
act to regulate commerce." which pro-
hibits the practice of receiving passes by
employees heretofore prevailing in this
department, and if in any particular the
act prohibits the continuance by railroad
companies of the practice of transporting
employees free of charge, in what degree
and by what limitations.
In his letter of request the Postmaster
General says II has for many
years been an almost universal
practice of railway companies engaged
in the transportation of mails to transport
without special charge inspectors Of this
department, including such officers
IS the Postmaster General was author
lied to employ as inspector or special
agents, also to transport without charge
postal clerks, not only when engaged in
the actual service of distributing the
mails on the car en- route and on their
return, but to transport them between
which they are required by the rules Of
the service to be given their clay
offs' when they are at liberty
to go home for rest and study.
The question has been raised by various
communications to the department
whether since the recent act of Congress
of February 4, 1887, entitled "An act to
regulate commerce." the continuance Of
such facilities will cOntravene. Inspect
ors and special agents have haOiJually
received commissions signed by the head
of this department, designating them as
inspectors and requiring all railroads and
other contractors engaged in the trans
p rtatiOn Of mails to carry the respect
lively designated persons without special
charge for transportation. Similar COM
missions hrve been issued to postal clerks,
but in addition passes have been granted
them to make return trips, although not
actually engaged IN distributing mails,
and to travel between the terminals of
their routes and their homes.
Following is the opinion of the AttOr-
ney- General: The title of the act of the
4th of February, 1887, is 'an act to regu-
late commerce." II is not entitled IAN
act to regulate the United States mail
service" The question presented is
substantially: Was it the interest of the
makers that it should be construed to in
clude the mail service of the United
States. The constitutional power author
iziDg the act is the third clause
of the of the eighth sectionOf the eleventh
article of the constitution, which en-
powers "Congress to regulate commerce
with foreign nations and among the sew
eral states and with the Indians" If
this provision of the constitution had
been understood by the trainers of the
to have embraced the mail
service of the United States in the term
commerce" there would have been no
sufficient reason for the Introduction of
the seventh clause OF the same section
and article, Congress shall have the
power to establish postofilces and post
roads," under which last the postal sys-
tenn has been organized. The magnitude
of that system is such that It's main
operations can only be conducted
successfully by uniform and general rules.
Justice in the administration of the serv-
ice requiref that the burdens Of its eXecu-
ton shall not be subject to the possibili-
ty of different rates between those pOr
tons of the service which may be per-
formed exclusively within individual
states and those which include service in
two or more states. The provisions of
the act as applied to the subject intended
to be embraced therein does not apply to
former, but to the latter. 1t is not to be
that the law makers intended
under the regulation of commerce to
subject part of the mail service to the
provisions of the act while another part
would be excluded. The mail service is
a unit system organized in pursuance of
an established government policy. The
Postmaste--Geuersl as head of the de-
partment is placed over that system. He
is required By law among msny other
specific duties to superhtend the other
business of the department and to exc
cute the laws relstiye to the postal ser
vice, Or. S. 1861 1t could not be the
purpose of the act under
consideration to join the Post